The Goddess Within
by CreedKeeper
Summary: Tea has always been a cheerleader for Yugi and the others. So what happens when she goes to Greece and finds her own destiny in dueling? Can the guys deal with realizing Anzu is stronger then they are?
1. New Beginning

Language table

"hello" - Main language

_"hello" -_ Secondary language

'hello' - thought

"**hello**" - yelling in main language

_"**hello" - **_yelling in secondary language

**'hello'** - yelling in a thought

The Goddess Within

Chapter One: New Beginning

Two more days, that was all it would take before she was back in Japan with Yugi and the others. Anzu had waited all summon for this, to show them how much she had changed, to see how they would treat the new her. She had learned a lot about herself during her summer in Greece, and also a lot about an ancient secret her family had held for generations.

Flashback

"Are those duel monster cards, Anzu?" her elderly grandmother cautiously asked a few days into the summer after she had seen the card case attached to Anzu's belt. "It seems all the youngsters duel nowadays..." "Yeah, I guess I wear them as a habit since my friends duel, I never do though." Anzu replied thinking of all the duels she had seen in which she had stayed on the sidelines cheering them on. She was never given the chance to duel for herself. It wasn't as if she didn't know how, after all of the lectures by her friends Yami and Kaiba on the "finer points" of dueling. She even had her own deck that she carried with her always, a weak deck true, but it was cards that she had collected by herself for herself to use whenever she could. Even though they were weak, and she hadn't much practice, she knew how to use them well. Anzu proved that by beating Mai in the duelist kingdom when her usually strong friend, Yugi, had fallen apart. But no, she was forever a cheerleader, putting on a happy face in front of the guys, just waiting for them to notice. They wouldn't even think to include her. She was not a jealous person by nature, but couldn't they share the spotlight, or if not that, the experience?

While Anzu was lost in her thoughts she did not notice as her grandmother nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. She left the room and returned carrying a gold and marble box the size of a thick book. The sound it made hitting the sturdy wooden table was enough to wake Anzu up out of her daze. "_Woah! _Sorry! Grandma? What is that?" Anzu said embarrassed by her outburst and startled by the box itself. It was engraved with weird symbols that she recognized even if she didn't understand them.

"I have been holding this box since I was your age and my grandmother gave it to me. Now it is your turn to carry it." The grandmother smiled there and swept Anzu into a big hug. "I was worried when I saw you carried cards, but if you don't duel, these will be best in your care." Anzu walked over to the table with a confused look and stroked the gold lettering. Yes, that was where she had seen them before, they were ancient Greek, and this looked old enough to be authentic. She stroked the letters again and turned the key that had been placed in the gap in the front. It creaked as if it had not been opened for years, but what was inside was worth the wait as it slowly opened fully. Surrounded by black silk was a deck of duel monster cards. She took them out of the box almost reverently, thinking of the age of such an archaeological find, and turned to her grandmother.

"Are these... How did... What could... wow..." Anzu sputtered half thinking this was a dream, that she could be given something so amazing. These cards had to be at least a thousand years old, and if the ancient Egyptian cards were any indication, the older the stronger.

"This is only one of the remaining Grecian decks and is the only complete one. It is the women of our family's duty to preserve these cards because since ancient times we have been priestesses to the goddesses of the pantheon. Now it is your turn."

Flashback End

After that day, Anzu went into training to take over for her grandmother, learning the legends, the mythology, the heroes, the creatures, and most importantly, the gods. The entire pantheon was open to her, and once she learned what she needed to, she could borrow the god's powers for her own use. Through the lessons, Anzu had not mentioned one word about dueling, though that was what she had intended. Her grandmother had only presumed she wouldn't, and thus did not say she couldn't. Anzu was finally going to get her revenge. And who better to share her revenge with then the boyfriend her "friends" never thought she would get.

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	2. Oh Brother

Language table

"hello" - Main language

_"hello" -_ Secondary language

'hello' - thought

"**hello**" - yelling in main language

_"**hello" - **_yelling in secondary language

**'hello'** - yelling in a thought

Chapter Two: Oh Brother…

"Anzu!" A voice called from behind her. She sighed; remember that as well as her boyfriend, Haden, she had agreed to bring his two brothers Sai and Z with her. She turned around to greet Z and found Haden there as well.

"Hey Haden." Anzu smiled as she saw them.

"Hey Haden? What about me here " Z said a little irritated at being ignored.

"Yeah, yeah, you too Z. So what's up?"

"Well Haden here wanted to see you but thought he would just be bugging you so I brought him here anyway." At hearing this Anzu smiled, it was so like them. Haden glared at Z sourly as he slapped him on the back jovially.

"Actually what I said was we should give her some space before the trip and that you would only annoy her, but you dragged me here anyway." Haden said sighing, serious as always. He was glad to see here though and smiled apologetically for his brother. "And Z wanted to show you he's been working on his Japanese."

"Dragged you to see me huh…" Anzu murmured to Haden before saying aloud, "Oh? What can you say now?" She inwardly winced remember the last butchering of the language he had asked her to listen to.

"Uh… err… um… what was it again? Oh yeah! 'Haya 'Zaimas Anzuchan." Z said happily.

Anzu wondered what she got herself into in agreeing to bring him along, seeing as that was the best improvement so far. His other ways to say good morning were "Ohay Gozai" and in the beginning "Hai Zai".

"Ohayo Gozaimas Z-kun… but please don't call me chan."

"Aw… but you let Haden call you that!" Z said completely ignoring her correction like always.

"That's different and you're annoying. Leave us along now, okay?" Haden said to his older brother. Yes, Z was the oldest of 3 at 19. Sadly, he acted half his age for most of the time. Ignoring his behavior, his wavy blond hair, boyish smile, and sapphire eyes had made him quite popular with girls. Anzu's indifference had made her into a challenge for him, and he took every opportunity to get close to her, usually by annoying the heck out of her and his brother.

Haden was just as popular but for different reasons. Where Z was sports minded, Haden was bookish. While Z was bright and hyperactive, Haden was calm and dark. Haden was as much silence as Z was laughter. He was not gloomy, just a quiet guy. He was darkly handsome with long red hair so dark it was almost black tied in a ponytail and emerald eyes hidden behind small oval glasses. He was the type of person that no one could tell what he was thinking. If Z was an open book, Haden was a well-kept secret.

"Well fine then, if you two are going to be lame I'll go find Sai." Z said obviously getting an idea.

"Poor Sai" Haden whispered to Anzu as she snickered.

"Be nice, he's just excited." She whispered back as he walked away planning some sort of trick on his other brother.

Haden then held out his arm to Anzu and made a slight bow, asking for her to take a walk with him. She made a small curtsy that from anyone else would be mocking and took his arm.

"So tell me about your friends again." Haden began leading her away from the busy street.

"There is not much left to tell, there is Joey of course, that lucky moron. He has no common sense but is pretty brave in a pinch. He and Tristan used to be real jerks, but got better eventually. Tristan does not duel at all and is going out with Serenity, Joey's sister. She's a nice girl I guess, I don't know her well though." Anzu said hesitating towards the end.

"And who else? Wasn't there a… Kaiba? Somewhere in there?" Haden said gently testing her reaction.

"Yes, he's Seto Kaiba, but we call him Kaiba. He runs KaibaCorp and gets out of class a lot to work. He's… cold I guess. Then there is Bakura, talk about multiple personalities. He's British and half the time is a very nice guy, then for the other half goes evil and tries to take over the world.

"Hey! Stop laughing! I'm serious here!"

"Sorry Anzu, its just your friends sound so… interesting, that's it." He laughed even harder at her indignant face and stopped short his laughing to sweep her into a kiss. "Better?" He asked playfully.

"You jerk." She grumbled, trying and failing to sound upset.

Their moment was cut short by a huge crash followed by a shout of "**You brat**!" Anzu and Haden turned to each other at once and said "Poor Sai" before laughing again even harder then before.

"**Come back here! You can't just run away! Fight me like a man! You're going to pay for that you stupid brat**!" Sai called chasing him through the street towards them, dodging passerby and walls with equal vigor. It was quite obvious to Anzu and Haden why he was angry. To pedestrians it looked like he was waving a slightly charred wooden rod. To Tea and Haden, it looked like Z had interrupted his carving with a tazer. Z made a mad dash towards the couple and hid behind Anzu.

Haden sighed and murmured, "Better keep them from killing each other" as he stepped between them and held Sai back. This was no small feat, seeing as Sai was the biggest of the brothers and generally the strongest and most violent.

"**Let me go**! Do you know what he did?"

Anzu and Haden looked at each other again and replied, "We can guess."

"**Look**! I was almost done that one and he fried the carving!" Sai shouted swiping at Z with the staff.

Tea took the staff at the next attack and looked at the charred area. She could see an almost completed leaf pattern engraved in the wood. "Its beautiful, what was it for?" she said admiring it.

"It was for a girl wasn't it Sai?" Z taunted.

"**Shut up and come over here! You're going to get it**!" Sai shouted, still being held back.

"If you really want to get him, get him yourself and **leave us out of it**!" Haden said releasing him and causing him to fall on his face.

"**That's mean Haden**!" Z shouted running in a circle around Anzu with Sai.

At this Anzu was pretty well ticked off. Both boys were running around her and shouting in her ears. She caught them both by the arm and shouted at them, "**Will you two shut up and leave me out of it**!"

Sai and Z looked at each other, shrugged, and were released to their chase again. During that summer, Anzu had become their mediator, taking over the job formally controlled by Haden. He was glad for the break, and this let Anzu in as an important part of the family. She usually didn't mind, except when they interfered like this.

She sighed again and looked at Haden. "I have to pack some more so I'll see you later. Ja Nai Haden."

"I will see you later" he said holding her eyes with his. Anzu blushed slightly and walked home.

Haden watched her leave with a gently sad smile, then once she was out of sight changed. His expression became cold and his eyes flashed. He walked towards his squabbling older brothers and tore them apart, holding them at arms length glaring.

"That staff was for Anzu, wasn't it Sai? Olive leaves for Athena." Haden said frostily.

Sai nodded and Z rolled his eyes like a kid that had known a secret all along. "And if it was? You can't claim her, you know that. Its one of the rules. Besides, she would see it as a 'thank you' gift for bringing us along. You might have her now, but who knows?"

Haden released Z and slugged Sai in the gut, then released him too. "She's different, and she's mine now, that's all that matters. Take this as a warning." He glared at them both and stalked back home, Z following behind whistling in innocence.

"Harsh as ever Bro, you really should loosen up. She loves you, you know that." Z said carefree.

"I know… that's what I'm afraid of…" Haden whispered to the wind.

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	3. Mai Oh My

Language table

"hello" - Main language

_"hello" -_ Secondary language

'hello' - thought

"**hello**" - yelling in main language

_"**hello" - **_yelling in secondary language

**'hello'** - yelling in a thought

Mai Oh My!

The next few days passed fairly uneventfully, with a lot of Sai chasing Z and Anzu trying to steal moments alone with Haden. Finally, it was time to leave.

"Thank you for everything Grandma, I won't let you down." Anzu said, hugging her goodbye.

"Of corse you won't. I will worry about you, alone with those boys, but you'll manage I'm sure. Let the gods protect you, child." Her grandmother kissed her cheeks in farewell.

"Don't worry about her, we'll take care of her for ya" Z said beaming as he slapped Haden on the back.

Haden glared at him and put his arms around Anzu protectively. "I will care for her, so please leave her to us."

Sai was sulking but still managed to add, "And I'll protect her from them." causing both his brothers to smack him upside the head. He would have retaliated, but just then Anzu noticed the time.

"We're going to be late! Come on!" She shouted grabbing Sai and Haden by the arm. They got to the plane at last call and sighed in relief when they were aboard.

Haden beamed at Anzu uncharacteristically as he took the window seat, leaving her with Z beside her and Sai in front of him. She glared at him as fiercely as she could make it before laughing softly. She rolled her eyes at him as he took out noise canceling headphones, his ipod, and a book.

"Cheater" she grumbled, slapping his leg playfully. 'Well, it can't be that bad' she thought. 'Sai is reading Skymall so he shouldn't be a problem. But Z... Z wanted to practice more japanese... and more meaning all...'

"So... you are a cooco ninei?"

"KooKOO niNENSEI."

"And Sai and Haden are my otooko?"

"Otooto."

"Washi wa nigo hashima?"

"YOU would say 'BOKU wa niHONgo chotto o haNAshimasu."

"Boshi wa hongo chotto hashimashi."

"You have no idea what you just said, do you?"

"Not at all!" He said with the smile of a small child being praised.

"Repeat after me. 'Nihongo o hanashimasen."

"Nihongo hashimasen."

"You know what? I think thats good enough. People should be able to tell anyway."

"I'm just that good, right?"

She sweatdropped. "Lets go with that."

"My japanese is already so much better then Sai's its not even funny."

"I heard that brat! And at least the words I do know I say right!"

"Yeah? Prove it!"

"Sumimasen, boku wa eigo o hanashimasu. ha!"

At this a flight attendant walked up and asked if there was a problem.

"No problem, these two were about to shut up. _**RIGHT GUYS?"**_ She answered, pulling both guys back to their seats glaring. "Besides, until you can speak as well as Haden, you can't make fun of each other for it."

"Thats different and you know it!" Sai protested. "He's Haden."

"Yes, he is" she said smugly. "Now that thats clear, let me get some rest, _OR ELSE_, its a long flight."

At this the boys grumbled but let her rest, snickering as her snuggling interupted Haden, and glaring as he smirked in their direction. They spent the rest of the time trying to outdo each other in word games. By the time Anzu woke up, they were landing, Z was bored; Sai was sleeping; Haden was on his 3rd book.

As soon as they were off (Z woke Sai by popping an empty barf bag in his face) Anzu called Mai.

"Hey Mai! Guess what, I'm back! I've actually got a couple friends with me, think you can come give us a lift? Yes, they are guys. You'll see for yourself. We can talk about this later, right? Thanks a bunch! Seeya soon!" Anzu ended cheerfully before turning to the guys in all seriousness. "Mai is on her way now. She doesn't speak much english, but she understands it, so don't try anything. And don't say ANYTHING about her driving, just hold on."

Before she even finished warning the guys a dark violet convertable pulled up. And by pulled up, I mean came to a rolling stop from what had to be about 90 miles per hour.

"Anzu! Its been all summer! How've you been, girl? And who are these hunks behind you? Any taken?" Mai said appraising them each, with a wink to Sai.

Haden put his arm around Anzu and said "taken" playfully as he kissed her. Anzu turned beet red at Mai seeing her. Her friend just raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"So I take it you two gentlemen are available?" Mai said batting an eyelash at them.

They looked at eachother, neither understanding the questions, but noticing that the 'hot girl' had asked one, answered at once.

"Hai- _er... yeah_?"

"_um... yes_?"

Mai laughed and said to them "You guys are a riot! We're gonna have some fun here. So I take it you don't speak japanese?"

That was when Z remembered her lesson from the plane. "Boshi wa hongo choshi hashimasen" unfortunately, liek always, he only remembered what he felt like remembering, sending Mai into bales of laughter and causing Haden and Anzu to sweatdrop, which left Sai looking around confused.

After wiping a tear of laughter from her eye, Mai led them to her car. After a quick "Hang on" she was speeding away. The only one unaffected by the sudden movement was Z, who had decided it was great fun to stand up in a speeding vehicle.

They got to Mai's place in no time flat. In an instant she whipped out her cellphone and sent a dozen texts in under a minute, only stopping to make a quick call. "Yep, she's here. Uh huh, you better come. No, she's not. Yep, more then one. Ask her yourself!" After that she stoppped and gave a cryptic explanation "Ace, dragonboy, and shorty are on their way."

As the three brothers looked around in identical expressions of wonder, but with varying degrees of confusion, Anzu slapped her forehead. If those three were coming that meant Mai's house would soon become filled with the very people she had gone to get space from.


End file.
